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Twenty years to an “overnight success” By Misty Zakrzewski Alex Sokol-Blosser fondly remembers harvest season as an exciting time at the family winery as a kid. To help out his parents during this busy time he lent a hand after school by cleaning pumps, tanks, and hosing down the crush pad; summers he worked in […]

By Misty Zakrzewski When Dirk Olsen was in high school he stumbled across a book on bees at the library called ABCXYZ of Bee Culture. After reading the book he became intrigued with the idea of beekeeping and decided to try it out for himself. “I’m kind of a weird guy,” he says. “Bees are […]

By Misty Zakrzewski Before the Willamette Valley Fruit Company retail store was built in Salem, their customers came knocking on the door of their business office to purchase a pie or request a tour of the facility. The community wanted to be able to buy pies straight from the source, and the Willamette Valley Fruit […]

Planning for the next generation. By Misty Zakrzewski For many family farms and ranches, the idea of succession planning is more daunting than writing a will. It can be a sensitive topic no one wants to discuss. To the Drewsey Field Ranch Company, succession planning is a vital part in continuing the family legacy. The […]

Here to stay By Misty Zakrzewski Hart’s Nursery of Jefferson has learned that beginning in 2011 they will lose their largest customer, Walmart, after doing business together for 20 years. The retail chain will begin streamlining their supply for all their Northwest stores from just one grower. Instead of panicking, Hart’s Nursery remained confident in […]

Protecting Oregon’s natural resources for future generations. By Misty Zakrzewski While most of us have yet to take down the Halloween decorations, Yule Tree Farms is in full swing, hard at work harvesting half a million Christmas trees that will adorn families’ homes this holiday season. Unfortunately, not everyone will buy a real Christmas tree this […]

This diverse, farmer-owned cooperative moves into the twenty-first century as “One Wilco.” By Julie Pederson As a farmer-owned cooperative 3,000 members strong, with thousands of non-member patrons visiting the farm stores each year, Wilco serves a diverse clientele. Satisfying the needs of all these customers, from hobby farmer to production agriculturalist, is a challenge that […]

By Shannon Larson Established in 1934 in Clackamas County, Willamette Egg Farms is now one of Oregon’s largest egg producers and a leader in animal welfare education and research. Willamette Egg Farms has always dedicated itself to providing consumers with a quality product at an affordable price, but changes in consumer preferences have meant changes in egg production and, along with it, […]

Rising to the challenge of modern farming By Shannon Larson Farmers in Oregon and around the country are currently facing challenges not dealt with by previous generations. Changes in laws concerning everything from the environment to the production of goods are forcing farmers to re-think the way they used to do business and the ways in which […]